Digital Conflict

By Kevin Coleman

Companies stampede for cyber gold rush

You would have to not be connected to the Internet to have missed the discussions about the cuts that will befall the Defense Department as Washington moves to rein in the budget deficit. Just as that news started circulating, so did reports that cyber budgets wouldn't be touched. As more people became aware of the reported protection for cyber budgets, it seemed that many new private sector organizations rapidly began their journey to the budgetary safeguards of what might be called the cyber defense industry.

New organizations sprang to life, new service offerings were announced and information began to be purposely leaked about new product pipelines. In September we saw the infamous bubble chart, which was made famous by Gartner, depicting the cyber defense industry offerings of the private sector. Vendors are rushing to differentiate themselves and stand out from the rest of the pack. One went as far as to develop a specific product offering that would have you believe it was either given inside information or knew more than the National Security Agency.

In addition, industry analysts began selling for several thousands of dollars their insights into what they believe would be the rapid growth of this new defense industry sector. There are event executive white papers and reports on the cyber defense industry. Add to that the significant increase in the number of conferences about cyber warfare and conflicts that have been scheduled and it is clear the cyber gold rush is on. These efforts are not just happening in the United States but around the world as the cyber arms race accelerates.